stevejohnson
May 1st, 2009, 3:48 pm
STORY http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/592632.aspx
Mexican authorities are shutting down businesses and much of the country's government in an effort to stop the spread of swine flu. In the U.S., Vice President Joe Biden says there is no practical benefit in shutting down the country's border with Mexico. Nationwide, health officials have confirmed more than 90 cases across eleven states. Five people are in the hospital. As a precaution across the country, more than 160,000 children stayed home from school Thursday. That follows the advice President Obama gave to the country last night. "Keep your hands washed," he said during his televised news conference. "Cover your mouth when you cough. Stay home from work, if you're sick and keep your children home from school if they're sick." Texas is one of the hardest hit areas in the country by the illness. In Fort Worth, one confirmed case of swine flu has shut down an entire school district. There have been at least 16 confirmed cases of swine flu in the state. So far, The Lone Star State has had the only fatality in this country.
The World Health Organization raised its alert level from four to five, which means a pandemic is imminent. Level 6 is a full-blown pandemic. Some health experts have called rising the current level to five is excessive. Others expect them to raise it within the next day or so. "Influenza pandemics must be taken seriously precisely, because of their capacity to spread rapidly to every country in the world," said WHO Director- General Dr. Margaret Chan. The world's eyes are on Mexico, where health officials say the virus may have caused as many 170 deaths.
The biggest reason is because this type of virus is a new strain and doctors know little about. That unknown is what has them worried. Doctors say there are not many differences between the symptoms of swine flu and the normal flu. People who have swine flu can expect to experience high fever, muscle aches, and fatigue. If there is a difference, medical experts say swine flu may cause patients to feel more nausea and vomiting.
As far as we know so far, less than 200 people around the world have died from swine flu. However, the regular flu kills at least 36,000 Americans every year. Worldwide, as many as 500,000 die annually from the flu, according to the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization. Since January, more than 13,000 Americans have died of complications from regular seasonal flu. Most of those victims are elderly.
So is the global reaction to this new strain of flu overblown? Dan Gainor of the Media Research Center told CBN News that the news media has a track record of overplaying these kinds of stories. "The media have a really bad history of dealing with any sort of flu," he said. "It's like the end of the world." Gainor also says the media should concentrate more on giving people practical ways to fight the virus.
MY COMMENTS
While Mexico seems to have the right idea about stopping the spread of this swine flu in their country, our Vice-President says it is not necessary to take an important step that would likely stop the spread in our own country. How is that for leadership? Of course, there are a couple of problems with shutting down Mexico’s border with the United States. Number one, it is not as if we have done a good job controlling our borders up to this point. Number two, if we did America would be accused of being a racist nation yet again, not that it matters what the world thinks of us, but the majority of the people in our federal government right now seem to care all too much what the world thinks of us. The point is that any hope of temporarily closing down the border with Mexico is probably a dream.
I like the perspective this article puts at the end. The normal flu virus kills approximately 36,000 Americans every year while only one person has died from swine flu in the United States. Over 500,000 die worldwide from the flu every year while only 200 people total have died of the swine flu worldwide. The media, never missing an opportunity to create a crisis, sure jumped on this though. I am not saying the swine flu is nothing to worry about or that we should take no steps to prevent it. I am saying that there is no reason to treat this like the black plague just yet.
Mexican authorities are shutting down businesses and much of the country's government in an effort to stop the spread of swine flu. In the U.S., Vice President Joe Biden says there is no practical benefit in shutting down the country's border with Mexico. Nationwide, health officials have confirmed more than 90 cases across eleven states. Five people are in the hospital. As a precaution across the country, more than 160,000 children stayed home from school Thursday. That follows the advice President Obama gave to the country last night. "Keep your hands washed," he said during his televised news conference. "Cover your mouth when you cough. Stay home from work, if you're sick and keep your children home from school if they're sick." Texas is one of the hardest hit areas in the country by the illness. In Fort Worth, one confirmed case of swine flu has shut down an entire school district. There have been at least 16 confirmed cases of swine flu in the state. So far, The Lone Star State has had the only fatality in this country.
The World Health Organization raised its alert level from four to five, which means a pandemic is imminent. Level 6 is a full-blown pandemic. Some health experts have called rising the current level to five is excessive. Others expect them to raise it within the next day or so. "Influenza pandemics must be taken seriously precisely, because of their capacity to spread rapidly to every country in the world," said WHO Director- General Dr. Margaret Chan. The world's eyes are on Mexico, where health officials say the virus may have caused as many 170 deaths.
The biggest reason is because this type of virus is a new strain and doctors know little about. That unknown is what has them worried. Doctors say there are not many differences between the symptoms of swine flu and the normal flu. People who have swine flu can expect to experience high fever, muscle aches, and fatigue. If there is a difference, medical experts say swine flu may cause patients to feel more nausea and vomiting.
As far as we know so far, less than 200 people around the world have died from swine flu. However, the regular flu kills at least 36,000 Americans every year. Worldwide, as many as 500,000 die annually from the flu, according to the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization. Since January, more than 13,000 Americans have died of complications from regular seasonal flu. Most of those victims are elderly.
So is the global reaction to this new strain of flu overblown? Dan Gainor of the Media Research Center told CBN News that the news media has a track record of overplaying these kinds of stories. "The media have a really bad history of dealing with any sort of flu," he said. "It's like the end of the world." Gainor also says the media should concentrate more on giving people practical ways to fight the virus.
MY COMMENTS
While Mexico seems to have the right idea about stopping the spread of this swine flu in their country, our Vice-President says it is not necessary to take an important step that would likely stop the spread in our own country. How is that for leadership? Of course, there are a couple of problems with shutting down Mexico’s border with the United States. Number one, it is not as if we have done a good job controlling our borders up to this point. Number two, if we did America would be accused of being a racist nation yet again, not that it matters what the world thinks of us, but the majority of the people in our federal government right now seem to care all too much what the world thinks of us. The point is that any hope of temporarily closing down the border with Mexico is probably a dream.
I like the perspective this article puts at the end. The normal flu virus kills approximately 36,000 Americans every year while only one person has died from swine flu in the United States. Over 500,000 die worldwide from the flu every year while only 200 people total have died of the swine flu worldwide. The media, never missing an opportunity to create a crisis, sure jumped on this though. I am not saying the swine flu is nothing to worry about or that we should take no steps to prevent it. I am saying that there is no reason to treat this like the black plague just yet.